Conference Magazine - GoingPublic.de - Deutsches Eigenkapitalforum

or inclusion requirements for the relevant market have to be
fulfilled. For transparency reasons, further requirements then
have to be fulfilled to participate in the segment: the annual
and management reports that were most recently published,
six company key figures, a company or bond rating, a company
and bond profile, and a corporate calendar must all be
provided. A rating is not required if the issuer is either a member
of one of the select DAX or MDAX indices or its annual
turnover over the past three years was at least EUR 1 billion
in each instance. If these conditions are met, the issuer is
also exempt from presenting company key figures, but it
must, however, provide an explanation for the non-submission,
which is then published by Deutsche Börse.
Follow-up requirements
The Prime Standard for Corporate Bonds entails more extensive
follow-up requirements than the Entry Standard for Corporate
Bonds. These comprise the publication and provision
of annual and half-yearly reports four and two months
respectively after the end of the particular period, an up-todate
company and bond profile, an up-to-date company or
bond rating, an annual update to the six company key figures,
an up-to-date corporate calendar and the publication and
distribution of important company announcements. Additional
transparency is ensured by an analysts’ conference, which
must be held once a year for credit investors and analysts.
With its Prime Standard for Corporate Bonds, Deutsche
Börse Group is initially targeting large German corporates
and is also striving to tap into the extensive pool of large
unlisted companies. Other than the conditions regarding issuing
volume and denomination, the Prime Standard for
Corporate Bonds does not set any formal requirements for
the structure of the bonds. Bonds with a flexible coupon
and subordinate bonds may be listed in the segment. How-
ever, they must be
clearly indicated to
provide investors
with greater transparency.
In summary, the
new Prime Standard
for Corporate
Bonds offers five
major benefits:
■ Image building and brand recognition
by listing in a segment exclusively in Europe meeting the
highest international transparency requirements
■ Enhanced probability of a successful placement
through widely diversified distribution supported by the
Retail Subscription Service
■ Greater flexibility and independence from banks
due to greater influence in placing and pricing the bond
■ Direct placement with selected stakeholders such as
customers, suppliers and employees
through simple integration of the web-based Retail Subscription
Service on the issuer’s website
■ Enhanced tradability of bonds on Xetra
as a result of enhanced transparency requirements and
the liquidity provided by Xetra specialists
Conclusion
Photo: Deutsche Börse AG
Bond Issuance
The Prime Standard for Corporate Bonds is the logical
extension to the Entry Standard for Corporate Bonds,
particularly for issuers targeting new groups of investors
and demonstrating a high level of transparency. It thus also
rounds off Deutsche Börse’s services in the area of debt
financing.
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